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The World's Most Reputable Companies

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We live in a world where word of mouth is the No. 1 driver of sales and competitive advantage—and because there’s a strong correlation between a company’s reputation and consumers’ willingness to recommend it, businesses need to focus on building those strong bonds with stakeholders. Companies should of course strive to earn the trust and esteem of consumers in its native land, but given that a multinational gets a majority of its revenue from international markets, it really needs to be liked everywhere else, too.

Building a top-notch reputation that spans the world isn't easy. However, at least 100 well-regarded companies have successfully expanded their brands into the international marketplace by integrating reputation management into the way they do business.

Reputation Institute, a global private consulting firm based in New York, recently ranked 100 businesses that have successfully established strong international names for themselves. The firm invited about 47,000 consumers across 15 markets to participate in a study of those 100 most reputable companies, all multinational businesses with a global presence.

In Pictures: The World’s 25 Most Reputable Companies

Each company earned a "Global RepTrak Pulse" score of zero to 100, representing an average measure of people's feelings for it. The scores were statistically derived from calculations of four emotional indicators: trust, esteem, admiration and good feeling.

Reputation Institute also analyzed what it calls the seven dimensions of corporate reputation. That’s where it found that perceptions of the enterprise (workplace, governance, citizenship, financial performance and leadership) trumped product perceptions (products and services plus innovation) in driving behaviors.

“In today’s reputation economy, what you stand for matters more than what you produce and sell,” says Kasper Ulf Nielsen, Reputation Institute's executive partner. “People’s willingness to buy, recommend, work for, and invest in a company is driven 60% by their perceptions of the company and only 40% by their perceptions of their products.”

The study shows that in order to win support and recommendations, a company needs to tell its story in a way that connects with stakeholders on a global level. “This is a challenge that even the best companies struggle with,” Nielsen says.

Building a strong reputation takes time. “You need to live up to your promises and be relevant in the local and global context,” he adds. “You need to be seen as a company who genuinely cares about stakeholders. The best companies are the ones who invest in local and global activities; the ones who are doing more than just selling their products. The companies who are seen as the reputation champions produce locally, employ local people, and engage in solving local issues in all markets.”

One company that has been able to do this exceptionally well: BMW. The German automaker is now in the top 10 for all seven dimensions on a global level, and in the top 10 in 10 of the 15 markets, earning the title of world's most reputable company for 2012.

It earned a global RepTrak score of 80.08 out of a possible 100, and in its home country BMW did even better (85.79), which isn't uncommon. Nielsen says companies tend to have a stronger reputation at home. On average, the home country reputation is 4 points higher than the global reputation across all 15 markets.

“BMW has earned the trust and respect of consumers all around the world though its consistent focus on delivering high quality in all of its actions,” says Nielsen. “For a company to earn a reputation above 80 on a global level is remarkable because we know how difficult it is to build a strong emotional connection outside of your home country.”

Because reputation is often tied to the history of the company, the level of trust and admiration you need to break a score of 80 relies on many years of positive action and relevant communication, Nielsen says.

The weaker spots for BMW include the U.S., Japan, Canada, and China where it scored in the 70s—however, a score between 70 and 79 still indicates a strong reputation and “considering that these are the home markets of the largest competitors, this speak to the strength of BMW,” he says.

In total, three automakers landed in the top 10 this year; Daimler and Volkswagen hold the No. 4 and No. 8 spots, respectively. Both German car companies outperformed the auto industry by more than 10 points. “This tells us that even if you are in a troubled industry, you can still deliver on your promises through a focus on quality,” Nielsen explains.

No. 2 Sony earned a 79.31 global score. It earned a 76.15 in Japan--which shows that it was able to overcome the challenges that all companies face when trying to build trust and support among consumers in foreign markets.

“Sony has been able to regain its stellar reputation after its crisis last year with the security breach,” Nielsen says.

The Japan-based multinational electronics company has the broadest reputation profile of all 100 companies, with a top 10 rank in 13 of the 15 markets. The only two countries where Sony didn’t land in the top 10 are Japan, its home country, where it ranks 16th, and South Korea (No. 50).  

Sony has its strongest reputation for its high quality products, but also ranks in the top 10 on all the other measured dimensions. The weakest spot for Sony is the perception on citizenship, where its score fell below 70 on the global level.

Rounding out the top three is The Walt Disney Company with a 78.92 global score. It ranks highest (No. 1) in the citizenship category—but lands in the top 10 in all seven dimensions.

“The Walt Disney Company has a more mixed reputation than the other top companies,” Nielsen says. “In Japan, Australia, Russia, the UK, and Italy, Disney has an excellent reputation with scores above 84. But in India, China, France, and Brazil its reputation is at or below 70.” In total, Disney ranked among the top 10 in nine of the 15 markets.

Google fell to No. 6 after holding the top spot for two years. However, the company still has a strong reputation. “Could this drop could be a sign that Google has lost its youth image and is becoming more like an established company?” Nielsen asks. It earned a 78.05 global score and has the best reputation in the workplace category.

Others that land toward the top of the heap include tech giants Apple (No. 5) and Microsoft (No. 7).

With a global score of 78.49, Apple ranked in the top 10 in eight countries and all seven dimensions of reputation. In was the winner in three of those categories; performance, leadership and innovation.

 “Apple has seen its strong corporate brand transform into a strong corporate reputation,” Nielsen says. The company’s popularity did not translate into a strong reputation until recently, when it started to build a profile outside of its products, he adds. “Today Apple is seen as a company that is delivering on all 7 dimensions of reputation, and this broader reputation platform proved its value for Apple when it was able to maintain its high ranking despite the loss of its iconic leader Steve Jobs.”

Microsoft, a newcomer to the top 10, earned a 77.98 pulse score.  “The company has been on a remarkable reputation journey. What was once known as an evil monopoly is now the company with the best governance reputation in the world,” Nielsen says.

The Brazilian energy company Petrobras, U.K. telecommunications firm Vodafone and U.S.-based Lockheed Martin landed toward the bottom of the list, with scores under 65--but they aren't losers by many means.

To qualify for the ranking at all, each company had to have an above-average reputation score (defined as over 70) in its home market, based on Reputation Institute's global database of RepTrak scores spanning 2006 to 2011. The criteria for qualification also included company size, based on annual revenue, multinational presence and high familiarity among consumers in the measured 15 markets (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Spain, South Korea, the U.K. and the U.S.).

Something all the winners across the globe have in common: They have recognized that the days where a strong product alone would win the love and support of consumers are over.

Earlier this year Reputation Institute ranked the most and least reputable big companies in the U.S. Forbes reported on that here.

See the full list of the world’s 100 most reputable companies on page 3.Here are all 100 of the world’s most reputable companies:

Rank Company Home Country 2012 RepTrak™ Pulse Score Difference 2012-2011
1 BMW Germany 80.08 .65
2 Sony Japan 79.31 .25
3 The Walt Disney Company United States of America 78.92 -.58
4 Daimler (Mercedes-Benz) Germany 78.54 -.49
5 Apple United States of America 78.49 -1.29
6 Google United States of America 78.05 -1.94
7 Microsoft United States of America 77.98 .68
8 Volkswagen Germany 77.04 -.30
9 Canon Japan 76.98 -1.08
10 LEGO Group Denmark 76.35 -2.91
11 Adidas Group Germany 76.00 n/a
12 Nestlé Switzerland 75.88 -.13
13 Colgate-Palmolive United States of America 75.75 1.13
14 Panasonic Japan 75.71 -1.13
15 Nike United States of America 75.43 -1.49
16 Intel United States of America 75.42 -2.14
17 Michelín France 75.32 -.42
18 Johnson & Johnson United States of America 75.17 -1.58
19 IBM United States of America 75.08 .68
20 Ferrero Italy 74.90 -.12
21 Samsung Electronics South Korea 74.81 2.05
22 Honda Motor Japan 74.80 .81
23 L'Oréal France 74.35 -1.36
24 Nokia Finland 74.33 -1.84
25 Philips Electronics the Netherlands 74.33 -.51
26 Kellogg United States of America 74.32 -.88
27 Goodyear United States of America 74.28 -.80
28 Amazon.com United States of America 74.07 .45
29 Danone France 74.05 .13
30 3M United States of America 74.02 -.66
31 Hewlett-Packard United States of America 73.67 -2.23
32 Nintendo Japan 73.56 -1.09
33 LVMH Group (Louis Vuitton - Moët Hennessy) France 73.46 1.31
34 Bridgestone Japan 73.35 .14
35 IKEA Sweden 73.22 -.61
36 Giorgio Armani Group Italy 73.22 n/a
37 Toyota Japan 72.77 1.50
38 The Coca-Cola Company United States of America 72.66 -1.61
39 FedEx United States of America 72.56 -.12
40 Marriott International United States of America 72.53 -.54
41 Pirelli Italy 72.30 -1.58
42 Barilla Italy 72.12 .09
43 Fujifilm Japan 72.07 -.60
44 Deutsche Lufthansa Germany 72.06 -.79
45 Siemens Germany 71.76 -.58
46 Bayer Germany 71.31 n/a
47 UPS United States of America 71.29 -.91
48 Boeing United States of America 71.09 -.48
49 Procter & Gamble United States of America 71.08 -1.67
50 Dell United States of America 71.02 -2.58
51 Singapore Airlines Singapore 70.89 -.87
52 Toshiba Japan 70.87 -1.83
53 Xerox United States of America 70.77 -2.32
54 Unilever the Netherlands/the United Kingdom 70.63 -.74
55 Cisco Systems United States of America 70.62 -2.37
56 LG Corporation South Korea 70.62 -.35
57 HJ Heinz United States of America 70.61 -.92
58 Kraft Foods United States of America 70.57 .42
59 Swatch Group Switzerland 70.50 -2.64
60 Hilton Worldwide United States of America 70.47 -1.70
61 Heineken the Netherlands 70.41 -.24
62 Nissan Motor Japan 70.18 -.94
63 Qantas Airways Australia 70.05 .40
64 Electrolux Sweden 69.91 -1.60
65 Abbott Laboratories United States of America 69.89 n/a
66 General Electric United States of America 69.86 -1.13
67 DuPont United States of America 69.77 -2.23
68 Sharp Japan 69.75 -2.02
69 Eastman Kodak United States of America 69.64 -3.35
70 Airbus France 69.60 .09
71 Oracle United States of America 69.54 -.98
72 Roche Switzerland 69.53 -1.58
73 ACER Taiwan 69.38 -.93
74 Sara Lee United States of America 69.35 2.16
75 Yahoo! United States of America 68.94 n/a
76 H&M Sweden 68.77 n/a
77 SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) Sweden 68.74 -.55
78 Marks & Spencer Group the United Kingdom 68.73 -1.66
79 Hitachi Japan 68.64 -2.02
80 eBay United States of America 68.50 n/a
81 Avon Products United States of America 68.40 .07
82 Zara Spain 68.26 .00
83 Starbucks Coffee Company United States of America 68.16 -.50
84 PepsiCo United States of America 68.11 -1.25
85 Fujitsu Japan 67.93 -1.36
86 GlaxoSmithKline the United Kingdom 67.79 -1.66
87 Pfizer United States of America 67.44 n/a
88 Suzuki Motor Japan 67.34 -3.70
89 Carlsberg Group Denmark 67.21 -.81
90 Eli Lilly United States of America 67.21 n/a
91 General Mills United States of America 67.19 -1.17
92 Air France-KLM France 67.13 -.78
93 Carrefour France 66.54 2.53
94 Virgin Group the United Kingdom 66.41 -3.38
95 Lenovo Group China 66.27 -1.67
96 Hyundai South Korea 65.69 -2.50
97 Diageo the United Kingdom 65.05 -.19
98 Petrobras Brazil 64.21 -.71
99 Vodafone the United Kingdom 64.02 -.94
100 Lockheed Martin United States of America 63.93 .42

In Pictures: The World’s 25 Most Reputable Companies

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